Possibly slated for a holiday launch, the device packs impressive hardware, with a 1.5 GHz quad-core 28 nm Snapdragon 4 Pro chip from Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM), 2 GB of DRAM, LTE, and the same f/2.0 camera found in the popular HTC One X. The device also packs the same image processing and audio digital to analog conversion chips as the One X+ and 8X Windows Phone. The former chip allows you to save pictures from a video stream, while the latter Beats Audio chip enhances the quality of the sound piping out the headphone jack.

The phone will pack Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" (v1) with an upgrade to Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean v2) on the near horizon.

Verizon Wireless, a joint subsidiary of VerizonCommunications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone Group Plc. (LON:VOD), has long been the most active player pushing Android on the U.S. market. While Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) also played a key role in early adoption, devices like the original Droid lured buyers onto the Android platform, and helped to ease the market's iPhone fever.